If it were just a publicity stunt, I might agree with you. But they have to use up the fuel in a test flight anyway. It's not like they can go up for 20 minutes and say "all good" and end the test.

They were going to be in the air for 19 hours as a test flight anyways. Who cares what the path looks like?

There's being environmentally conscious, and then there's being a green freak.

That's true, I was being a "green freak."

Would you prefer they tested it with passangers?

My comment was serious. They have to test the plane, why not fly around in a pattern that is interesting?

It's much more important to be environmentally conscious with the bigger stuff. One test flight isn't going to make the tiniest dent in worldwide carbon dioxide emissions. It's much more important to advocate for changes on an industry-wide and systemic level, rather than protesting one-off slightly wasteful novelties.